


But My Life, My Lover, My Lady

by dancingsweetheart129



Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M, Jason Dick and Kon are in the navy, M/M, Steph is a bartender, navy AU, this is just pure self indulgence, tim is a waiter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-01
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-05-16 22:44:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 15,727
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14820332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancingsweetheart129/pseuds/dancingsweetheart129
Summary: The inside of the bar wasn’t much different than the outside. There weren’t many walls, mostly all open to the salty breeze flowing off of the ocean. But at least inside the sun wasn’t beating down on him.His freckles were starting to show and he usually tried to hide those as best he could. Gotham’s constant cloud cover seemed to work wonders for that.“What can I get you?” the bartender asked as he sat down. She was young, blond, and she had pretty blue eyes.





	1. You're a Fine Girl

**Author's Note:**

> Again, I wrote this for myself because the idea popped into my head and why not? Chapters will switch up who they follow, Steph or Jason, but the next chapter will also be Jason. It'll switch when letters are sent (or the letters I choose to include anyways). Also, there will be eventual Tim/Kon, but you're not going to see it for a while. At least not like...obviously.

There would only be a week at the Florida shoreline before Jason shipped off.

Thank God.

At least that meant that it would be only one more week until he could get out of this hell hole.

The pier was always his favorite place as a kid. The water was soothing and so inviting. If sirens were real, he would have suspected one was trying to lure him with his song. He always said the sea was his only love.

Of course, this was different than the Gotham Harbor. The water was clearer, and it smelled too much like salt and shellfish. Most people would probably prefer that to the murky and slightly polluted waters in Gotham, but Jason didn’t. Sunny skies and white sand beaches weren’t his thing.

Though no one would know it since he was walking down said beach in his board shorts and an unbuttoned t-shirt with his flipflops in hand and sunglasses firmly on his face.

Gotham wasn’t this fucking hot.

Most of the other guys were at the beach too. What else did you do when you had a week to kill in Florida?

“Excited to shove off?”

Jason turned and saw one of the other servicemen he met at basic training. Grayson or something.

“Yeah,” Jason shrugged, “I’m not much of a land guy.”

Land always sucked. The people on it didn’t make sense. The water did what it always did, tides and currents and waves. It didn’t surprise him.

“Hm,” Grayson hummed in thought from where he was sitting on the sand. “Sucks a bit though, my dad and brother weren’t too happy that I was doing this.”

“No?”

“No, he’s only 10.” Grayson shrugged. “He doesn’t get it. What about you? You family?”

“Haven’t got any,” Jason shook his head.

“Oh, I’m sorry-“

“Save it,” Jason waved him off. “Never knew my dad and mom died right before I graduated. Figured college wasn’t in the cards for me so here I am.”

“My parents too,” Grayson nodded. “Like 12 years ago. I was adopted after that.”

“That’s rough.” Jason mumbled, glancing up and down the beach. He caught sight of one of those rickety beach bars down a ways, tourist-attracting grass thatch looking roof and everything. “I’m going to go get a drink, I’ll catch you later.”

Jason waved as he started down the beach. It was too damn hot here. And maybe he could use a water or something. Maybe lemonade. He had simple tastes.

The inside of the bar wasn’t much different than the outside. There weren’t many walls, mostly all open to the salty breeze flowing off of the ocean. But at least inside the sun wasn’t beating down on him.

His freckles were starting to show and he usually tried to hide those as best he could. Gotham’s constant cloud cover seemed to work wonders for that.

“What can I get you?” the bartender asked as he sat down. She was young, blond, and she had pretty blue eyes. Jason glanced up at the menu behind her.

“Shirley temple?” He asked, and she gave him a smile as she headed over to her work station.

“You got it,” She said, filling a glass with ice and grabbing the soda gun to fill it. “You here for business or pleasure?”

“Uh, a little of both,” Jason nodded. “I’m shipping off in a week with the Navy.”

“Oh, sailor, huh?” She asked, pulling out the grenadine.

“Oh yeah, my life’s dream to live on a boat with fifty other people for six months,” He said with a laugh as she handed him the glass, setting a cherry in the pinkish liquid.

“Sounds like my life’s dream,” She chuckled, leaning on the bar. “So if you don’t want to go, why are you?”

“I do want to go,” Jason nodded, pausing to take a sip. “I’ve been trying to make ends meat since high school and it just wasn’t working out for me so I just decided to enlist not long after and here I am.”

“Pretty brave of you.” She said, glancing at a sunburned tourist who strode in, but a shorter man with raven-black hair beat her to greeting him. “So you got a name?”

“Jason,” He said, holding out his hand. “Jason Todd.”

“Well, nice to meet you, Jason. I’m Stephanie Brown,” She said, shaking his hand firmly. “So where do you call home?”

“Gotham, up in the north east. Born and raised. Sorta.” Jason shrugged, taking another sip of his drink.

“Pretty different here, huh?” She asked, waving to acknowledge another person sitting at the other end of the bar.

“It’s hotter than hell here. And I’ve been to hell, I know,” Jason said with a smile, and Stephanie laughed.

“Stephanie Lynn, we have other customers,” The waiter from earlier hissed as he walked by the two with a tray of food.

“Give me a second,” She said with a small smile, heading down to the other end to get the person a drink.

True to her word, she was back in a few moments, still full of smiles. Jason assumed it was to get a nice tip.

“So Lynn, huh?” He asked, taking another sip of his drink.

“I’m getting flack from the guy drinking the Shirley Temple?” She asked, motioning to him.

“Hey, not my fault I’m only 20,” Jason laughed. “And no, I like that name. Better than my middle name, Peter.”

Stephanie covered her smile with her hand.

“Well I think that’s a great name,” she said, biting her lip.

“You just saying that to get a good tip?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe.”

“Well you got it, chickadee.” Jason scoffed, reaching for his wallet. He pulled out a 20 and handed it to her. “Keep the change.”

“Well aren’t you generous, Sailor.” She said, heading to her POS system.

“I try,” He nodded, and it was true. He grew up with nothing, he’d gladly share all he had. “So I doubt you run this place all by yourself.”

“Oh, no,” She shook her head, pocketing the spare cash into her apron. “My dad owns this place.” She scowled.

“Don’t like working here?” He asked, setting his empty glass aside.

“Oh, I’ve always loved working here,” she said, glancing around. “I started bussing tables when I was tall enough to see over them, but my dad got thrown in jail for some really shady business stuff a few years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry-“

“It’s cool, he and I weren’t that close anyways. But my mom wanted to sell this place and I had to beg her not to. I told her I would do all the hiring and work if she just paid the bills for it still.” She explained with a shrug.

“Pretty adult of you.” Jason said, watching her take his glass and fill it up again.

“Well, it was hard, I had to hire a lot more people when I was still in school, but I just graduated so it’s pretty much just me and Tim and our cook, Bart. They’re my friends, and they’d rather work 12 hours than not enough hours.” She said, giving Tim a small wave.

“You’re pretty much running the show then,” Jason said with a nod. “Impressive.”

“I try,” She shrugged, handing the glass back. “So, you hungry?”

“Nah, I’ve got some stuff to take care of.” Jason shook his head, downing his second drink. “But I appreciate the company.”

“You should come back and see me some time,” She said, grabbing the empty glass and setting it in the sink. She grabbed a rag and wiped up the condensation.

“I will,” Jason said, giving her a wink and a wave as he headed back out into that devil sun.

* * *

 

And he did.

The bar opened around two every day, and Jason spent longer and longer there daily. She made a pretty mean virgin strawberry daiquiri.

“So you heading out tomorrow?” Steph asked, setting a napkin in front of the woman who sat two stools down. “What can I get you miss?”

Jason glanced around. He’d already killed four hours, and the dinner rush was starting. A second waitress had come in, and Stephanie said she was only there for dinner time to help out. Her name was Cass.

“Yeah, we set sail at 6 a.m.” Jason said, stabbing at his quickly melting drink with his straw.

“You don’t sound too excited,” She said, raising an eyebrow as she set the woman’s wine on a napkin in front of her.

“Eh,” Jason shrugged. He wasn’t as excited as he thought he would be. He was starting to really miss Gotham, and even the shitty apartment he had been living in. And he was actually really starting to like Stephanie’s company. During slow times they’d play cards or just talk. It got to be something he looked forward to in the morning. “I am, just not looking forward to getting up at 6 a.m.”

“I get that,” She nodded, “I can’t remember the last time I was up that early.”

“Besides, I won’t get to see you and that’s kind of shitty,” He said, scowling at his glass. She reached out to take it and refill it with something else. He had also turned into her guinea pig for virgin drinks since she didn’t make a ton of those.

“Aww, you gonna miss me?” She asked with a laugh. “You should write me.”

“I don’t know how often I’ll be able to,” He said, looking up as she put what looked like some kind of frozen lemonade in front of him. “Just when we dock.”

“Oh, it’ll be fun. And if you’ll be somewhere for a while, I could write one to you.” She said, shrugging a shoulder.

“I don’t know if you can write me,” Jason said, trying to remember everything his commander told him.

“Well, then you’ll just have someone to write back to. Tell about all of your adventures,” She said. “And if I can write you, I will.”

“I appreciate it,” Jason nodded, watching another person sit down at the bar. “You’re going to get busy here soon.”

“That’s alright, nothing I can’t handle.” She shook her head, setting a napkin down in front of the person.

“I should probably head out. I need to get some sleep since I have to leave in less than 12 hours,” Jason said, looking down at his watch.

“Wait, just a minute,” Stephanie said, setting a mug of beer in front of the person. She ran out from behind the bar and pushing a piece of paper into Jason’s hand. “That’s my address. I look forward to hearing from you.”

Jason glanced down at the little scrap of paper with an address scrawled on it and a little ‘Steph’ next to a heart doodle.

“Thanks, Steph,” He said with a nod. “I will.”

“Bye, Sailor.” She said, heading back to the bar, her eyes staying on him.

“Bye, Blondie,” He said, waving as he headed back out to the beach to take the walk back to the hotel.

* * *

 

Jason tried to sleep, he really did.  

It wasn’t easy, because his stomach started rolling at the thought of actually leaving. He wished his mom was still around at times like this because she usually somehow made him feel better, even if it was just giving him someone to focus on other than himself.

It was nearing 1:30 when he got an idea.

He got out of the ridiculously soft bed and changed back into his clothes. He knew he had to be up in less than 4 hours, but what was the point now? He could sleep tomorrow when he was off duty at 4.

Besides, they wouldn’t get to a port for a few days. He’d have plenty of time to lay on his bunk and catch up on sleep.

He wouldn’t have may other chances, or really reasons, to be walking down a beach at almost 2 in the morning. It wasn’t as hot at night, and there were less people out and about. That wasn’t saying much because there were usually too many people, now there were still too many, just less of too many.

Jason caught sight of Tim and Cass leaving the bar, heading towards the parking lot. Bart was behind them, keeping an eye on Stephanie as she shut the door and pulled her keys out of her pocket.

He started running, which was difficult in the sugary sand that gave way under his feet, but Stephanie had just locked the door and turned when she heard his steps on the wooden stairs.

“Jason?” She asked, raising an eyebrow. “Don’t you leave in like 4 hours?”

“Yeah, I just, I had to,” Jason paused to catch his breath. “I had to come see you.”

“You should be asleep.” She said, glancing over at her coworkers, who had paused when they saw she wasn’t following.

“I just,” Jason said, not able to find the words he was looking for. Instead, he reached forward gently, his hands going to hold her, one on her shoulder, the other on the back of her head, and pulled her into a soft kiss.

He had been wanting to do that and who knew if he’d ever get another chance.

“Oh,” She said when they pulled apart.

“I couldn’t sleep,” He whispered, and she nodded, leaning in for another kiss.

“You have to go,” She whispered. “You’re leaving.”

“I’ll come back.” Jason mumbled, letting his hand fall to hold her, clasping around her keys. “Promise.”

“Jason,” She shook her head, looking down at her feet. Jason cupped her cheek, not wanting to see her sad, wanting to see her smile again. “Write me, okay?”

“Of course.” Jason nodded, giving her one more kiss before she pulled fully away. She didn’t say anything as she fled towards the parking lot, following after her friends.

* * *

 

Jason didn’t sleep, of course, because why would he?

6 a.m. came way too soon, and he was going to have to get used to that again after basic training and all the other crap he had to do.

They were boarding the ship, and plenty of family and bystanders were watching from the beach and dock. Women sobbed, children waved, parents wept.

And Stephanie smiled.

Jason paused, almost tripping that Grayson guy behind him when he saw her standing on the beach, waving and smiling at him. He gave her a smile back as he continued onto the ship.

“Who was that?” Grayson asked.

“Just some girl I met.” Jason shrugged, and the guy whistled behind him. “Just for that, I call top rack.”

* * *

 

Actually, top rack wasn’t so bad. He was the tallest out of the three who were in their bunk, so that meant he could reach his stuff easier. Grayson, who he learned actually was called Dick and Jason found that really fitting, was in the middle and some fresh-out-of-school kid Conner was on the bottom.

The first day was a bit more easy going, tomorrow they would get their assignments and all, today they had time to get used to the ship, unpack, and get to know each other. He and Dick would start their watch later in the day, Conner would have morning on the flight deck as a damage controlman.

At the end of the day, Dick found Jason sitting in one of the common areas with paper and a pencil, scribbling out a letter.

“Sending a letter already?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Jason partially covered his paper like Dick was cheating off of his test.

“No, just starting it.” He shrugged, glancing down at it.

“To that girl?” He asked, flopping onto the couch beside him.

“Yeah,” Jason nodded. “Figured when we get to the first port I’d send it out. We’re stopping in a few days.”

“Why don’t you just email? We can, you know.” Dick asked, watching Conner flop into a chair, fiddling with something in his hand. It looked like a watch.

“I don’t know,” Jason shrugged. “Just feels more personal. Besides, she only gave me her address.” He reached into his pocket and produced the crumpled up piece of paper Stephanie had given him, and Dick plucked it from his hand.

“Heart, huh?” He asked, suppressing a laugh. Jason snatched it back, shoving it back into his pocket while Dick snickered.

“I hate you,” Jason said, folding his paper so Dick couldn’t see it. And especially so he couldn’t see that the letter was addressed to ‘Stephie’ because that was just embarrassing.

 

 


	2. A child of the water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so the TimKon is probably going to be a bit more obvious from here on out to the reader. To Jason and Dick? No. And you may ask, why doesn't Kon just tell them? I'd imagine he's scared to be mocked or possibly hurt by the other men on the ship. He is still just a teenager after all, and he just wants to not stand out as much as possible.   
> Jason is also just a teenager inside who can't handle feelings.

 The first port was in Cuba to rebuild some things damaged in the last hurricane, primarily their base but also the surrounding area.

The three of them were assigned to be off base and work on a school. It wouldn’t take them too long, it was already a work in progress, but a week’s worth of work would do it.

Jason was back on the ship every night working on his letter. It was almost like a diary, or a journal if he wanted to sound more guy-ish. He wrote the date before writing about his day.

_We finished the school today, and Monday we leave port. It’s really pretty here, and all the kids at the school are pretty nice. I helped teach some of them English today._

_You probably don’t know it, but I also speak Spanish. I grew up in a pretty diverse area and I learned when I was little._

_Dick, my bunk mate, he was going to head into town tomorrow to find some women to hang out with. I get the impression he likes women a lot. I think I’ll hang out with Conner at the beach, or maybe we’ll go into town and explore (sans Dick). He’s a pretty cool guy, about your age, maybe a bit older._

_I’ll take some pictures tomorrow. I kept my phone, and I know I can print out a couple pictures at the drug store. Hope to hear back from you soon._

_Jason_

Should he sign it love? Were they there yet?

Jason didn’t know, just stuffed the letter into the envelope he had waiting and closed it without sealing it.

“Hey, Jay? You in here?” Dick stuck his head into the racks, seeing Jason laying on his bed.

“Yeah, just resting.” Jason nodded.

“You up for dinner? Conner and I were going to head out into port and get something to eat.” Dick asked.

“I like that idea.” Jason got off of his bunk and followed after his friend.

* * *

 

Jason did end up taking a few photos. Luckily he didn’t need service for that. He really didn’t have much use for a phone, no one called him, but it was cheaper than a land line and he couldn’t find a working pay phone in Gotham.

After dinner the three of them went to the beach, and Jason took a picture of the two other men lounging in the sand. He took photos in town.

Saturday he and Conner went and looked at the school, and Jason took pictures of those too. He took pictures of everything he did, even a photo he kept of Conner looking up at the clouds just because it was a pretty nice picture.

That evening he went and sat at the kiosk, plugged in his phone, and started printing. He got a few and paid before shoving them in the envelope along with the letter.

He only had one more stop.

The post office was a little ways away, but he still walked to it and sealed the envelope before dropping it in the drop-off box.

Now to wait.

* * *

 

Dick was off who knew where while Jason and Conner were taking another beach day. The sun wasn’t as hot as it had been yesterday, and the water was a comfortable temperature.

“So, Conner, where you from?” Jason asked, lounging back on his towel.

“Miami, right where we were.” He said with a shrug. “Call me Kon, by the way.”

“So you’re used to this gross heat,” Jason said with a nod. All the heat was doing to him was burning him and making him tired.

“It’s not too bad.” Kon said, laying back himself. I haven’t always been here, when I was little we lived in Kansas. But then my little brother came along and we moved out here.”

“You got a little brother too, huh?” Jason asked. He felt like the odd one out as an only child.

“Yeah, he’s 8. I’m 10 years older than he is.” Kon shrugged again. “You?”

“Only child.” Jason said, propping himself up on his elbows. “It was just me and my mom up until a couple years ago when she died.”

“Oh-“

“Don’t say sorry, please.” Jason said, looking at Kon over his sunglasses. “I figured this was going to be my best bet to eat and actually get out of the slums.”

“I just want to travel,” Kon said, sitting up. “I mean, I’ll never be able to afford this otherwise. I sucked in school, no way I’m going to college. I’ll probably go back to Kansas and be a farm hand for the rest of my life.”

“Hey, not a bad way to live,” Jason shrugged. “I couldn’t have afforded college if I wanted to. I’ll probably just do this for the rest of my life. What have I got to lose?”

“I thought you had a girlfriend.” Kon said, and Jason felt his face heat up.

“I don’t know, she’s just this girl I met at a bar. I don’t know if it’s anything serious.” Jason said, looking up when a shadow fell over him. It was Dick.

“Hey beach bums.”

“Hey Dickhead.” Jason said, lowering his glasses a bit.

“No profanity.” Dick scolded, and Jason shrugged.

“Your name, not mine.” Jason said, slipping his glasses back up as Dick moved to sit on his other side.

“You talking about that blond girl?” Dick asked, and Jason felt his face get even warmer. Damn heat. “She was cute.”

“Can we please not focus on my possible love life?” He asked, trying not to groan. “You, did you find some girl with low self-esteem?”

“I don’t prey on girl’s low self-esteem.” Dick said with a sneer. “And no, but I ran into West and he and I had a few drinks.”

“What about you, kid, you were on a roll there talking about yourself.” Jason said, motioning to Kon. “Got a girlfriend?”

“Oh, no, uh, no girlfriend.” He mumbled, scratching the back of his neck. “We should head back to the ship, we’ve got an early day tomorrow.”

“I’m with you there,” Jason nodded. “I can only stand so much of this damn heat.”

“Again with the profanity,” Dick said, getting up to follow his bunkmates.

* * *

 

Jason was heading to get himself some dinner after his patrol shift when he passed by Kon at one of the computers.

“Oh, hey,” Jason said, nodding at him. “You talking to some family?”

“No, one of my friends,” Kon mumbled, and Jason detoured to sit next to him.

“Thought you said you didn’t have a girlfriend,” He said, catching a glimpse of the email address at Kon was writing to. TimTam95. “Tammy?”

“It’s just a friend.” Kon said, shrugged. Jason’s eyes skimmed the email, catching the ‘T’ it was addressed to at the top, talks of himself and Dick and what Cuba was like, and the ‘Love K’ at the bottom but he decided not to push it.

“Hey, you hungry? I was going to go eat some dinner.” Jason said, jerking a thumb over his shoulder.

“Yeah, I could eat.” Kon said, hitting send on his email and closing everything down before getting up to follow Jason.


	3. The Sailor's Only Daughter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is following Steph. Idk what to say really, please keep leaving kudos and maybe a comment would be nice. I kind of went strong out of the gate and idk if I'll have time to update daily after this but I'll try.

Stephanie was leaning over the bar reading Jason’s letter when Tim walked in at 1:30.

“Hey, Steph.” He said, giving her a wave. “Whatcha got?”

“Jason sent me a letter from their first port in Cuba.” She said, turning it around for him to read as he sat down at one of the stools. He skimmed over it, and his smile grew when he got to the first day’s recap. “He’s Conner’s bunkmate!”

“Uh-huh.” She said with a smile.

“He just emailed me last night, he told me about Jason,” Tim said, sitting up straight again. “He seems to really get along with him well.”

“Well look what else he sent me.” She passed the small pile of photos across the bar, the top one just of the school. Tim snatched them up and started flipping through him. “There’s some photos of your man in there.”

“Look at how handsome he is,” Tim said, pulling out a photo that was just Conner, looking up at the bright sky. “I miss him so much.”

“You two are so gross.” Stephanie said, rolling her eyes.

“Jealous,” Tim said, pushing the letter back to her.

“I already read it,” She said with a shrug. She had actually already read it twice.

“And you say we’re gross,” Tim said, hopping off the stool. “I’m keeping this picture by the way.”

“Whatever makes you happy,” Steph said, taking her stack of photos back, flipping through them one more time. Jason looked so nice in his sunglasses, and he looked genuinely happy.

“You going to write him back?” Tim asked, grabbing his apron and tying it around his waist.

“I don’t know yet.” She said, tilting her head as she read over the letter.

_I hope you have the same nice weather we’ve been getting. I saw a beach bar today and I almost stopped but you make the best drinks._

“He seems pretty smitten with you, Steph,” Tim said, reading over her shoulder.

_What’s your favorite color? Maybe I can take pictures of things that are that color to send you. There are pretty flowers all over the world._

“I know,” She nodded, folding the letter up and putting it in her apron. “I’ll write him.”

“I’d hope so, after that kiss.” Tim scoffed, waving at Bart as he strode in. “Want some paper?”

“No,” She shook her head, and Tim raised an eyebrow. “I can get it myself.”

She did just that, going to the back office that she only used to order things a pulling out a legal pad and a pen. She got back to her station behind the bar and started writing.

_Jay,_

_Stephie huh? I don’t think anyone’s called me that since I hit puberty. I like it, though._

_It sounds like you’re having a great time so far. I know it’s hard work, and I’m glad you even found the time to write to me._

“Can I get a mojito?”

Steph looked up and she had a customer.

“Sure thing,” She said, moving on autopilot.

* * *

 

Stephanie didn’t actually get to finish the letter at work. She had gotten so busy, it was a Wednesday. She was always busy on Wednesdays.

“Hi, Honey,” Her mother greeted her as she walked through the door.

“Hi, Mom,” She said, kicking off her shoes. “Your shift change again?”

“Yeah, I go into the hospital at 4.” Crystal nodded. “How was your day?”

“Good,” Stephanie nodded, setting her keys on the table by the door. She undid her apron and set it on top, and her letter and photos fell out.

“Oh, here,” Crystal knelt down, picking up the photos. “Who is this, Steph?”

“Just some guy from the bar,” She shook her head, taking the photos from her mother.

“Honey,”

“No, no mom it’s not like that,” She shook her head. “He was getting deployed in the Navy, he just wanted someone to write to.”

“Stephanie, you know how that works out-“

“It’s different, Mom.” Stephanie said, glancing down at the picture. “He and I aren’t together like that. He doesn’t have family, he just wanted someone.”

“Well, I hope you know what you’re doing,” Crystal said, standing back up with her daughter.

“I do, Mom.” She nodded. “I’m going up to bed, okay? I love you.”

“I love you too, Honey.” Crystal said, giving her daughter a tightlipped smile as she went up the stairs.

The house wasn’t huge, one bedroom, technically, but the loft was all Stephanie’s. They had to move after her dad was sent to jail, and it wasn’t much, but it was something.

She flopped down on her bed, pulling the letter she was writing out of her pocket.

_My mom saw your pictures. She’s not too happy with me because she never wanted me involved with a serviceman. But she’ll be fine._

_My favorite color is purple, since you asked._

_I actually know your bunk mate, Conner. He and I were in the same high school. Small world, huh?_

She paused, looking around her room.

If he could send photos, so could she.

Stephanie had started taking photos in her room. The view from her window, which was not great but the moon was pretty, her favorite picture of her and Tim that sat on her nightstand.

It was kind of fun.

* * *

 

The next day she went into work with the full intention of finishing her letter, but she got distracted by customers and new tourists.

She took a photo of the Shirley Temple she made for herself.

“What are you doing?” Tim asked, watching her smile at her phone.

“Taking pictures to send to Jason,” she said, holding her phone up to take a photo of her best friend with his arms crossed, hip cocked, and eyebrow raised.

“You better be taking nice pictures, young lady,” he said, striding over to behind the bar and looking over her shoulders as she scrolled through them.

“Smile!” She said, holding up her phone to take a photo of the two of them. She looked cute, Tim looked his usual annoyed self, but on him it was still kinda cute.

“Delete that,” Tim said, but Stephanie shook her head.

“What, you worried Conner will see it?” She asked, raising a brow at him. “Pretty sure he’s been on the receiving end of that look more times than he can count.”

“You’re a horrible person,” Tim said as he strode out of the bar area and towards the kitchen.

“You know what you are!” She called after him, and he shot her a sly smile as he pushed through the kitchen door.

_Tim and I have been friends for a really long time, and he’s super gay, so don’t worry. He thinks we’re disgusting, and I think he’s no fun sometimes. But that’s why we’re friends, balance._

_I’m getting pretty good at my virgin cocktails, I’ll have to have you try them when you come back._

* * *

 

The beach was kind of nice in the morning, Stephanie thought.

She snapped one more picture of it before she sat down on the white sand. She still had an hour before she had to go into the bar.

The sea air flowed through her hair. She loved the water, had thought about going into some kind of career where she could be in or around water all the time.

But after dad went to jail, that was pretty much out the window.

She started stripping off her clothes. She lived in Miami, for gosh sakes, no one wore a bra, it was all bikini tops.

Once she was down to her bathing suit, she went running into the warm water. She dove under once she could, swimming down in the cold, clear water.

She wished she had an underwater camera.

Maybe she could get one later.

She came up for air, staring out at the ocean. That was the way Jason went. She moved to float on her back and stare up at the sky.

Maybe her mom was right. What happened with Dean could easily happen again.

Tim. Tim would tell her what to do.

* * *

 

Steph showed up to work a little late. Tim was already rushing around, cleaning tables and chairs.

“There you are,” He said, looking her up and down.

“Sorry, I went for a swim.” She said, getting behind the bar and starting to wipe it down. “Clear my head and all that.”

“Everything okay?” Tim asked, hopping up on a bar stool.

“My mom saw the pictures of Jason and she thinks it’s a bad idea to get involved,” She said, taking a deep breath. “After what happened with Dean-“

“That’s different, Steph. Dean was in the army. He was out there on the front lines, Jason’s not,” Tim said, reaching out to put a hand over hers. “Besides, it’s been two years. You need to get back out there.”

“I know,” She nodded, taking a deep breath.

“And besides, when have you ever listened to your mom?” Tim asked, and Stephanie laughed.

“Right,” She said, pulling her letter out of her apron. “Should I tell him?”

“Not yet,” Tim shook his head. “When you guys are really serious, I’d say so then.”

“Thanks,” Stephanie smiled softly. “Could you go unlock the doors?”

“Sure thing.” Tim hopped off of the stool and headed to where the gates were still down over the open sides of the bar, working them up one by one.

Steph smoothed the letter out on the bar, reading over what she had wrote the previous day before starting a new paragraph.

_I went for a swim this morning, I haven’t done that in a while. I always loved the water when I was a kid, and it was nice to just enjoy it for a little while._

She stopped at the post office on her way home from work, sealing the photos and letter in the envelope before dropping it in the blue post office box.

Hopefully it would reach him soon. She knew that Tim and Kon were trying to keep in touch via email, but it just felt so much more personal writing a letter.

She sifted through the things on her passenger seat and made sure the letter and photos were there before she headed home.

Maybe in the morning Steph would stop and pick up one of those trendy Polaroids or something. That seemed like a good idea for photos to send.


	4. Lonely Sailors Pass the Time Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Roy is here. Surprise. Also Tim and Kon get photos of each other, and it's cute.

The mail call came around lunch time, and Jason practically ran to the plane that was dropping it off.

It had been a week now since he had sent Steph his letter, and he was hopeful every day.

“Uh, Jason Todd?” The mail carrier asked, and he raised his hand, reaching out for the lonely letter in his hand.

Return address: Stephanie Brown. Miami, Florida.

He all but sprinted back to the dining room where he had left Kon when he heard the plane.

“Where’d you go?” Kon asked over his sandwich.

“Sorry, mail.” Jason said, trying to sound casual as he tore the letter open.

_Jay,_

_Stephie huh? I don’t think anyone’s called me that since I hit puberty. I like it, though._

_It sounds like you’re having a great time so far. I know it’s hard work, and I’m glad you even found the time to write to me._

_I’ve been so busy at the bar and you know what? Customers are really fucking boring compared to you. We have this one tourist couple that comes in every day for dinner, a really weird old couple. She wears a string bikini and he wears a speedo, and they always order a boozy milkshake with two straws and fish tacos. I’m not sure how long they’re in Miami but I hope they buy clothes to wear home._

“Hey, that’s Tim.” Kon said, reaching for the photos that Jason had left on the table without looking at. Jason glanced over and saw Kon looking at the top one of Tim in his waiter get-up giving Stephanie a stern look.

“You know Tim?”

“Yeah, and that means I know Stephanie too. We all went to high school together.” Kon said, a smile pulling at his lip.

Jason kept reading.

She flopped down on her bed, pulling the letter she was writing out of her pocket.

_My mom saw your pictures. She’s not too happy with me because she never wanted me involved with a serviceman. But she’ll be fine._

_My favorite color is purple, since you asked._

_I actually know your bunk mate, Conner. He and I were in the same high school. Small world, huh?_

_And Tim knows him too, we all do. Tell him the folks at the Copa Cabana say hi._

Kon was reading the letter with him now, and he laughed.

“We used to joke about that place being called that. That was years ago, I can’t believe she remembered,” He said, tumbing through the other photos.

“What’s she like?” Jason asked suddenly, and Kon blinked.

“Stephanie? She’s a really nice person honestly. Really mature, she’s been running the bar by herself since she was 16, hard worker,” Kon shrugged, pushing at the food on his plate. “I thought you guys weren’t serious.”

“We’re not,” Jason shook his head. “It’s just kind of nice, you know? Having someone to write to and talk to? I haven’t had anyone really in almost three years.”

“I guess I understand,” Kon nodded. “It’d be kind of weird if I didn’t get to email my parents and my brother.”

_The bar has been just the same. Tim has been reading your letter over my shoulder all morning._

_Tim and I have been friends for a really long time, and he’s super gay, so don’t worry. He thinks we’re disgusting, and I think he’s no fun sometimes. But that’s why we’re friends, balance._

_I’m getting pretty good at my virgin cocktails, I’ll have to have you try them when you come back._

_Hope you’re not out there looking for another bar tender._

* * *

 

The end of the day was always when Kon checked his email, and Jason had taken to sitting with him, even if they weren’t really talking about the emails.

He had an email from his friend every day, and his parents probably every other day. His brother maybe once a week.

“My mom said it’s been raining there all week,” Kon said, making Jason glance up from the photos in his hand. Stephanie looked so pretty in her shades on the beach. “Guess we left just in time.”

“Hm,” Jason hummed, looking at the next one, a photo of a photo of Tim and Steph. “She looks so happy.” He mused. Kon leaned over to look at the photo.

“That was a long time ago,” Kon nodded. “Before everything with her dad.”

“Really?” He asked, looking up.

“Yeah, she really grew up after that,” Kon said, typing a response to his mom.

Jason scowled down at the photo, switching it to the view out her bedroom window. It was really pretty.

“What have we got here, nudes?”

The photos were taken from Jason’s hands, right over his head. He whipped around and saw one of the guys who shared a bunk with Dick’s friend, something Harper.

“Give me those,” Jason said, lunging over the table trying to grab them as the redhead flipped through them.

“These are so boring,” He said, passing them back.

“Leave him alone, Roy,” Kon said.

“You know him?” Jason asked, watching Kon open an email from whoever T was.

“He and I were in basic training together,” He shrugged. “Roy, Jason. Jason, Roy.”

“That your girlfriend or something?” Roy asked as he sank into the seat on the other side of the table.

“No, she’s just a friend,” Jason shook his head, shoving the photos back in his pocket with the letter.

“Roy, come on,” Kon said, rolling his eyes. “Don’t bug him about it, we don’t bug you about stuff.”

“Hey, we’re all stuck together for 10 months, we better all get along, right?” Roy asked and Kon kept typing a response to his email. “Roy Harper, nice to meet you.” He stuck his hand out and Jason shook it.

“Jason Todd,” he said, drawing his hand back.

“Why don’t you just email your friend?” Roy asked, eyeing Kon as he smirked a bit to himself.

“I don’t know, I don’t really have an email I use,” Jason shrugged. “And letters are kind of fun. Something to look forward to.”

“I guess,” Roy shrugged. “I get emails from my ex and sometimes I get to video chat with our daughter.”

“You have a daughter?” Jason asked, and Roy nodded.

“Yeah, Lian. She’s two.” Roy explained, pulling something out of his pocket and passing it across the table. Jason glanced down at it and saw a little girl with straight black hair and a big smile and a little pink dress.

“Cute,” Jason said, looking over at Kon. “I’m gonna go check on Dick, okay? Make sure he hasn’t killed himself in the training room.”

“See you later,” Kon said, giving him a wave.

Jason made his way down further into the ship until he walked into the gym and saw Dick running on the treadmill, sweat pouring down his face.

“How’s it going there, Dickie?” Jason asked, stepping up beside the treadmill.

“Hey, Jay. Come to spot me?” Dick asked, turning the speed down until he was just down to a walk.

“I can, sure.” Jason nodded, following after his bunkmate after he turned the thing off and headed towards one of the benches.

“So you get a letter back?” Dick asked, and Jason blushed. “Yes?”

“I’m trying to think of something interesting to tell her back, but I just want to read her letters all the time because she’s so interesting,” Jason said as Dick started lifting the bar.

“Play a game or something. Like a 20 questions type thing,” Dick suggested.

“I’m 20 years old.”

“So? Give it a shot,” Dick said, and Jason scowled down at him. Then he dug in his pocket for his phone and lifted it up to take a selfie of the two of them.

“You look gross,” Jason scoffed.

* * *

 

It was technically lights out, but Jason was behind his curtain with his little book light, writing about his day.

_Blondie,_

_I think I’m going to keep on these nick names. Feels right._

_Today I got your letter and it’s honestly been the highlight of my week. We’re not getting to port for a long time yet, so I’m just on the ship for a while._

_It’s funny you know Conner, he’s a pretty cool guy. I like hanging out with him._

_Dick is less fun to hang out with but I like him anyways._

Jason glanced around. If she could take a photo of her room, he could take a photo of his.

He held up his phone and took a photo of his little bunk, his legs hidden under the blanket.

_He suggested we play a 20 questions game. I think it’s dumb but maybe it’ll help us get to know each other or some shit so here goes._

_What is your favorite book?_

_Okay. That was dumb. Forget I asked._

* * *

 

Jason sat at breakfast the following day working on his letter. He had fallen asleep working on it the previous night.

“Reports?”

He looked up and saw Roy sitting across from him.

“Letter,” he shrugged.

_I met this other guy that Conner knows, Roy. He’s kind of an ass, but he said he’s got a daughter and showed me a picture of her and she’s pretty cute so he can’t be horrible if he makes such a cute kid._

“Your friend again?” Roy asked, taking a bite of eggs.

“Yeah, I want to send it out as soon as I can,” Jason nodded.

_I hope your mom ends up liking me. Most moms do._

_You also look pretty cute out on the beach. You should relax more often, you work too much._

“Tell her I say hi,” Roy said with a wink, and Jason scoffed.

_Roy saw me writing my letter. He says hi._


	5. What a good wife you would be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is whole story is just pure joy for me to write honestly.

_I hope you don’t mind, everyone saw those photos. I can try to keep them more private, I’m never sure what kind of pictures you’ll be sending._

_Not that I think you’d send me anything inappropriate!_

_Ignore me. I’m just going to go hop off the side of the ship._

_I’ll write you beyond the grave._

_~~Sincerely~~ _

_~~Fondly~~ _

_~~Lo~~ _

_Jason_

Stephanie laughed as she finished the letter, skimming through her other mail. Bills and more bills. Of course.

“What’s so funny?” Her mom asked as she passed through the kitchen. Saturday was one of her off days, and Stephanie didn’t have to be at the bar yet.

“Oh, just a letter,” She shrugged, looking through the pictures. She had an idea of what she was going to send with her next letter.

“From that boy?” Crystal asked, and Steph nodded. “You seem pretty fond of him.”

“He’s just kinda funny mom,” She said with a shrug as her mom came up behind her and glanced at the photos.

“He sent you a picture of him working out?” Crystal asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, that’s his bunkmate. This is him,” Steph pointed to the not sweaty man in the picture with his curly dark hair and greenish blue eyes.

“He’s cute,” Crystal said, moving towards the fridge. “Are you going to ask him out?”

“Mom, we can’t really go out, he’s on a ship in the middle of the ocean,” she sighed, folding up the letter with the photos inside. Tim would get a kick out of the one of Jason and Kon sitting at the computer.

“No, but you can still ask him out,” her mom said, pulling back from the fridge with an orange. “Distance doesn’t mean a thing when it comes to how you feel about him.”

“It’s not like that though, Mom,” she said, “We’re just friends.”

“Well, if you ever want advice about being just friends, let me know,” Crystal said, heading towards the living room with a wink.

“Gross, Mom!”

* * *

 

“I miss this face,” Tim whined, looking at the picture on the bar in front of him. “Why’d he have to go and be a good person and enlist? Why couldn’t he just be selfish and stay home with me?” Tim’s forehead hit the bar top and Steph shook her head.

“He’ll be back before you know it,” she sighed, drying out a few glasses.

“9 months! He’s going to be gone for 9 months. Do you know what it’s like to go without sex for 9 months?” Tim asked, lifting his head.

“Yeah, it’s called pregnancy,” Steph snarked, and Tim scowled.

“Wow, you’re in a mood,” Tim said, hopping off of the bar stool.

“Well you’re in here whining about missing Conner so much like you’re the only person missing someone overseas,” She said, wiping away the fingerprints on the bar top.

“So you missing Jason?” Tim asked with a smirk.

“Shut up.”

“You do!” Tim shouted, running over to the kitchen and leaning in. “Bart! Stephanie misses her boyfriend!”

“I’m going to kill you!” Steph ran around the bar and clapped a hand over Tim’s mouth and dragged him away as Bart came out of the kitchen to follow.

“That Jason guy?” Bart asked as they all sat down at one of the tables.

“Yeah, I got another letter,” she sighed, tossing the pages onto the table. The two boys read over it slowly, and by the end, Bart was smiling ear to ear and Tim was squealing.

“He’s so cute, Steph,” Tim said, pushing the letter back.

“He really likes you,” Bart added.

“I know,” she groaned, crossing her arms over the table and putting her head down on them. “But he’s not coming home for nine months, I don’t want to turn into you.” She motioned at Tim.

“Yeah, but Steph, you don’t have to be me,” Tim said, reaching over the table to squeeze her arm. “Of course I miss Conner. But I’ve been around him since we were 10 years old, and I’ve seen him almost every day for four years. You don’t know Jason that well, this is a chance for you to get to know him.”

“But do I even want to get to know him?” She asked, sitting up. “He’s enlisted. What if he never comes home?”

“Steph, not every guy is going to be Dean,” Bart said, moving over to kneel beside her, wrap an arm around her shoulder.

“Do I want to go through this again?” She asked, turning to look at him. “I mean, what if he meets someone in person?”

“Something tells me he’s not that type of guy,” Tim added. “Come on, we’ve got a bar to open, guys.”

“Right,” Steph nodded, getting up from her seat.

“Write him again,” Bart said, giving her a final squeeze. “Tell him how you feel and your reservations.”

“Oh, yeah, okay,” She scoffed as she lifted one of the gates. “Hey, Jason, just so you know, I like you, but my last boyfriend died in the army and I had his baby. You wanna go out sometime?”

“Hey, you never know, maybe he likes kids,” Tim shrugged, tying on his apron.

“Okay, liking kids and liking a vagina that’s had a kid are two different things,” She laughed.

* * *

 

Despite her reservations, Steph still took out a notebook when she got home from the bar.

_Jay-Jay,_

_Nicknames are fun, you’re right._

_I want to preface this letter by saying I didn’t want to write what follows, but Tim and Bart convinced me to._

_I like you, Jason, as corny as it sounds._

_But I also loved a serviceman before, who never came home. That’s a long and boring story that I won’t bother with now._

_Now that that’s out of the way, my favorite book is Little Women._

She glanced over at the stack of books gathering dust on the end of her desk. Her to-be-read pile had been growing for years, but now that she worked, she didn’t get time to read them.

_I wish I had a different answer for you, but I don’t really get to read much since I took over the bar. I sometimes wish I didn’t, but if I didn’t, we wouldn’t be able to afford to live how we do._

_Besides, I’m paying way more overtime pay than I should, but I can’t bring myself to hire more people. I don’t trust anyone else to make sure it’s a nice place._

The bar had been only hers for two years. Sure, her mom still had to sign the checks, but she ran it all, made the money to pay the bills. It was her dad’s dream, and she loved it. She just wished he hadn’t done all the tax fraud and stuff that they had to drain their savings and sell their house for.

At least she didn’t have a baby to worry about, she figured.

* * *

 

_If we’re doing this whole 20 questions thing, that means I get to ask you something now._

_What is the best movie you’ve ever seen?_

“Miss, can I get a rum and coke?”

Steph bounced away from her letter to cater to her customers. She saw out of the corner of her eye Tim swiping her camera and rushing to the kitchen with an empty tray.

“You better bring that back!” She called after him, trying to keep a smile on her face as she filled out the drink orders with the new crowd. Cass rushed past her into the kitchen too, and she narrowed her eyes at the door she couldn’t go through because she had a permanent post.

Once everyone was drinking happily, she moved back to her letter.

_Tim stole my camera and I want to apologize for whatever he takes pictures of._

A half an hour later she saw him empty his apron pocket onto the bar in her line of sight, and she quickly pulled the photos from view of the customers.

There was one of Tim just standing by the prep station, mid-laugh with his eyes crinkled and white teeth gleaming.

Kon would probably get a kick out of that one if he saw it.

The others were just her three best friends making stupid faces, smiling, laughing and hugging.

And one of Stephanie making a drink, hair back in a ponytail and customer service smile on her face.

Okay that one wasn’t bad.

* * *

 

Before work the following day, she stopped at the store and bought another camera.

It was pastel yellow, much like her lilac one, but they didn’t sell them in dark colors.

She also bought a shipping box and dropped her letter on the top of the box after she filled it with the camera and packing peanuts.

Hopefully he would use it.


	6. No harbor was his home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I haven't updated as much, life gets busy sometimes

 A camera.

Huh.

Jason was sitting on his bunk, sifting through the box he had gotten. He hadn’t expected a package but he wouldn’t say no to it. And a polaroid camera made this whole picture taking thing so much easier.

_Jay-Jay,_

_Nicknames are fun, you’re right._

_I want to preface this letter by saying I didn’t want to write what follows, but Tim and Bart convinced me to._

_I like you, Jason, as corny as it sounds._

_But I also loved a serviceman before, who never came home. That’s a long and boring story that I won’t bother with now._

_Now that that’s out of the way, my favorite book is Little Women._

He paused his reading when he heard someone walking towards him. He looked up and saw Kon, his face red from the heat out on the deck.

“Oh, hey,” Kon said, blinking. He’d probably been anticipating time alone.

Gross.

Jason hated being on a ship with a bunch of dudes, they had too many hormones.

“Hey, sorry, Steph sent me another letter,” Jason said, waving the pages. “And a camera.”

“How is she?” Kon asked, leaning against the opposite wall.

“Why didn’t you tell me she dated someone who died in the army?” Jason asked, furrowing his brows.

Kon sighed.

“It’s not my story to tell,” He shook his head. “I didn’t want to be the one to break that news to you. And besides, I knew she’d tell you eventually if you guys wanted to get serious.”

“How old was she?” Jason asked, glancing down at the paper again, some photos fluttering out of it to the ground.

“She was 16, he was 18,” Kon said as he knelt down to grab them. He passed them back without looking. “But she’ll have to tell you the rest.”

Jason looked down at the pictures in his hand, the one on the top of Stephanie in her room, dressed in an old army t-shirt and looking ready for bed.

“What the hell am I doing?” Jason asked, dropping the pages to the bed. “I’m serious, what the hell am I doing, Conner?”

“Jason, relax-“

“No, I mean, I went into this because no one gives a fuck if I die, and at least I’ll have gotten out of that shithole I grew up in and saw somewhere cool,” Jason said, hopping down from the bunk. “And now, here I am, tying myself to another person.”

“Yeah, but dude, it’s not as dangerous where we are. And I’d care if you died. So would Dick, and Roy, and Wally. We’re your friends,” Kon explained, and Jason sighed.

“Thanks,” He mumbled. “I’m going to go find Dick, I’ll finish reading the letter later.”

“Okay,” Kon nodded, reaching out to close the curtain on Jason’s bunk so his stuff would remain undisturbed. “Oh, hey, one of those pictures landed on my bunk.”

Jason leaned over to look at it. It was a picture of Tim laughing.

“Just put it with the others, will ya?” He asked, and Kon nodded wordlessly.

* * *

 

_Chickadee,_

_I’m sorry about your guy, I didn’t know, and I don’t want you to ever go through that again._

_But I like you too and Conner told me I should tell you that._

_Dick told me it was so obvious I liked you he thought I’d told you already._

_I hate them both equally but that’s beside the point._

Jason tapped his pen on the table. His letters were getting harder to write since they were out at sea and not in port. His life on the ship wasn’t that exciting.

“What’s shakin?” Dick asked as he sat down at the dining table.

“Not much,” Jason shrugged, setting his pen down.

“Writing a letter?” The older man asked, and Jason nodded. “Tell her that Kon’s  been bunked down for hours,” Dick snickered, and Jason’s nose scrunched up.

“I think the heat has gotten to him,” Jason said, and Dick laughed.

“Oh, it’s the heat alright,” The other man said with a smile as he started eating his dinner.

“Either way, I’m not telling her that,” Jason said, rolling his eyes. “She’s a lady, she doesn’t need to hear that.”

“What do you guys talk about anyways?” Dick asked, leaning over the table to look at the pages. Jason shielded them from view.

“Just rambling is all,” Jason shrugged, glancing back down.

_The best movie I’ve ever seen is still Toy Story, hands down._

* * *

 

Jason stayed up late in his bunk. He had taken some pictures around the ship, especially of the sunset out on the water. It was one of his favorite things to look at since the sky was clear instead of the kind of greenish smog that hovered over Gotham.

_I’ve been thinking, and I don’t think I’m going to go home after all of this. There’s nothing there for me to go back to. I broke the lease on my apartment, and then I donated most of the shit I had that was useable, threw the junk out. Maybe I’ll go for another tour._

_Maybe._

_I’ll see how I feel after this one._

_Right now I’m pretty sure either Dick or Conner are jacking off in their bunk below mine so that maybe is leaning towards a no at the moment._

He grabbed the ear plugs he kept in his bunk and shoved them in his ears. It wasn’t exactly sound proof and they probably thought those in the neighboring beds were asleep.

He kind of wanted to pour bleach in his ears.

Freaking men and their stupid hormones.

* * *

 

Jason was half asleep at breakfast the next morning as he turned the camera in his hands.

“Look alive, Todd.” Roy said as he sat down across from him. Jason blinked at him before simply holding up the camera and taking a photo. The flash caused Roy to squint and groan.

“There, now we’re equally dead.” Jason said, setting the developing photo aside and picking at his eggs.

“So how’s the girlfriend?” Roy asked, eyeing the new camera. “Sent you a little gift I see.”

“She’s good,” Jason shrugged. “Working. She works every day for like 12 hours.”

“Tough chick.” Roy said, nodding. “How’d you sleep?”

“Like shit,” Jason scoffed, and Roy nodded again.

“I could hear Dick, I’m on the other side of the wall,” Roy rolled his eyes. “Dude needs to keep it down or do it in the bathroom like a normal person.”

“I don’t get it, I mean, we’re on a ship with a hundred other people, get ahold of yourself,” Jason said as he caught Conner’s eye from where he was getting his breakfast.

“Hey, sometimes nature calls in a different way,” Roy shrugged, giving Jason a wink, and the raven-haired man groaned.

“Men are gross, this is why I didn’t have friends,” He said as Conner sat down.

“You sure that’s the only reason?” Conner asked with a snicker. Jason threw a napkin at him.

“You’re an ass,” Jason said, taking another bite of his food. They would be going into port for the weekend, having been at sea for an entire month. This time they were in the Mediterranean somewhere. Maybe he’d take a picture of some cool stuff there.

* * *

 

Conner was checking his email again, and Jason actually liked the sound of typing. He found it helped him focus a bit.

_If you took some time off, maybe I’d be able to fly you out to port to visit next weekend. I’d love to see you again. I miss talking to someone who doesn’t have testosterone._

_Who is Tammy, by the way? Is it Tammy? Conner emails this girl every day, and he doesn’t want to talk about it, but I sit with him when he emails her every day._

“Hey I have a question,” Conner said suddenly, eyes not straying from the screen.

“Shoot.”

“Jon’s birthday is coming up. I want to send him something from Greece while we’re there,” Kon said. “What do kids like?”

“Hell if I know, I didn’t even like kid things when I was a kid,” Jason shrugged. “Maybe Dick knows, he’s got a little brother too.”

“You should get Stephanie something there too,” Kon said, hitting send on his email and turning to Jason. “We’re stopping at a couple of ports, it doesn’t have to be from Greece.”

“What would she like?”

“I don’t know,” Kon scowled. “What do girls like?”

Jason glared down at his letter.

_Hypothetically, if I were to send you a gift from a port, what type of gift would you want?_

_Asking for a friend._


	7. Too Proud To Be A Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is basically just Steph self esteem issues

Stephanie giggled as she read through the letter. She was glad Jason was making friends it seemed, and that was nice to see. He wouldn’t be as lonely as she worried he would be.

“What’s so funny?” Tim asked as he wiped down one of the tables. It was a slow lunch time, which was a nice change of pace.

“I think your boyfriend misses you,” She said, tossing the first page over towards her friend. Tim skimmed it, barking out a laugh at the same spot Steph had. “And we’ve still got about seven more months.”

“Maybe you should go visit him,” She said, reading through the rest of the letter.

“And leave you here? No way,” Tim shook his head, passing the paper back. “I can’t afford to fly out there, and besides, it’ll be over before we know it.”

“You say that now,” Stephanie said, smiling down at the page. “But in a month you’re going to be telling me you can’t take celibacy anymore.”

Steph herself had been celibate for a long time, she could wait longer.

“You think you and Jason are going to get physical when he comes back?” Tim asked, sly smile on his face.

“I don’t know,” She shrugged a shoulder, wiping down the bar. “We never talked about it.”

“Well, maybe you should start talking about it,” Tim said, leaning over the freshly cleaned bar to look at one of the photos. “Or maybe you should dump him for this cute redhead with the nice arms.”

“You have a boyfriend,” Stephanie scolded, and Tim laughed.

“I’m allowed to look,” Tim argued. “Besides, Kon’s the one on a ship with the guy.”

Stephanie didn’t say anything, getting more glasses out to have at her disposal when they got more customers.

“You should send him some pictures,” Tim said finally, and Stephanie raised an eyebrow at him.

“I have been,” She said, but Tim shook his head.

“No, like sexy pictures,” Tim explained, and Stephanie almost dropped the glass in her hand.

“Are you high?” She asked.

“No, really,” Tim said. “Think about it. It’ll build up all this anticipation for when he actually comes back, that you two had been teasing each other with sexy pictures for months.”

“No, I’d be teasing him with sexy pictures that could be seen by any of those people on the ship,” She explained. “Girls don’t want to look at penises, they’re the ugliest part about you.”

“Says you,” Tim scoffs.

“What, did you send Conner dirty pictures of yourself?” She asked, and Tim bit his lip.

“I’m not going to say I didn’t, but I did it very discretely,” Tim explained, twirling off towards the kitchen.

* * *

 

What did he think she was going to gain from some dirty pictures from Jason? She could stare at a picture of a penis all day, it was still not attractive.

_Jayce,_

_I’d be happy with anything you’d send me. Which you don’t have to do by the way, but thank you for asking for your friend._

_And I agree, boys are gross. Tim suggested something that I think sounded stupid, but I wanted to run it by you._

_He suggested I send you dirty pictures._

Stephanie tapped her pencil on the pad of paper, ready to tear out the page and start over. Sure, she had done it for Dean, but they had a lot of sex before he left, and she didn’t know if the pictures ever even got to him before he died.

And their sex didn’t exactly end in a happy thing.

_I sent them to Dean before he died, and I think there’s something else I should tell you, full disclosure._

_I found out I was pregnant right after he left. And he never knew, and I couldn’t bear to have a baby on my own. I gave her up for adoption._

_I’d totally understand if that ended things for us._

It probably would, she thought. That’s why she hadn’t dated since Dean, other than not wanting anyone else and being in mourning, no one in school wanted to date a girl who was pregnant, or a girl who’d given birth.

Her body had served its purpose. After she had a baby, she wasn’t sexy anymore.

* * *

 

Stephanie had a hard time thinking of anything else to add to her letter, even into the next day. She stared at the page during all of her free time at work, only interrupted by customers.

And the sound of a shutter.

She turned and saw Bart pulling a polaroid from her camera, setting it on the counter.

“You seem pretty distracted today,” Bart said, taking the bar rag and wiping down the bar. They were closed, and now they were in the cleaning phase. Tim was bussing over tables, Cass was washing dishes.

“I told Jason about the baby,” Stephanie sighed, and Bart stopped what he was doing, looked up at her. “I don’t quite know what to say after that.”

“Steph-“

“This is going to be it, right?” She asked, setting her pencil down. She could only tap it on the page for so long before she had to just give up.

“Stephanie,” Bart scolded. “You don’t know that.”

“But I do know that,” She said, taking the rag back and tossing it into the bucket behind the bar. “I do know that no guy wants a mom. And like it or not, I am a mom.”

“No you’re not, Steph,” Bart said, reaching out to take her hand. “You had a baby. You didn’t decide to be a mom, that baby has a mom.”

“Bart, you don’t get it-“

“Maybe I don’t,” He said, and she scowled. “But I’m a guy. And the fact that you’ve had a baby doesn’t bother me. It makes you who you are.”

“Well, who I am kinda sucks,” Stephanie said with a tight-lipped smile. “Go ahead and lock up, I’ll see you guys in the morning.”

Before Bart could stop her, she was heading for the gates, slipping out under it and to the beach. The letter was clutched in her hand, camera and photo in her bag.

She got down the beach as far as she dared before flopping into the sand, enjoying the quiet of the dark ocean.

She pulled out a pen and propped up her knee as a hard surface.

_Everyone tells me that having a baby isn’t a big deal, that it makes me who I am. But every guy I meet either knows that I was pregnant or just runs as soon as I mention it._

_I’m not a sexy girl, I’ve given birth. That’s the least sexy thing I can think of, and I don’t blame people for not liking that about me._

_I really don’t have much else to say. I hope this isn’t a deal breaker for you, but I’d understand if it was._

Steph sighed as she folded up the letter, stuffing it in her bag. She looked up and watched the moon’s reflection ripple in the water.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm probably going to do a time skip here soon because I can only write them back and forth so much. enjoy!

Jason stormed into the common area where Conner and Dick were hanging out. He had gotten his mail and had planned on sitting down to write a response but his hands were shaking so bad he couldn’t hold a fucking pencil.

There was a movie on, but Jason grabbed the remote and turned the tv off.

“We were watching that!”

“Not cool, Jason.” Roy added.

“Why didn’t you tell me Stephanie had a baby?” Jason asked, standing right in front of Kon. The younger man sighed, rubbing at the back of his neck.

“That was for her to tell you-“

“You could have warned me!” He screeched, and Dick turned the tv back on as Jason sat on the coffee table. “I-I don’t even know what to say.”

“Maybe we should go somewhere else to talk about this,” Kon suggested, eyeing the other men in the room.

“No, I want to hear this,” Roy said, and Jason shot him a glare. He sighed and tossed the letter onto Kon’s lap. Both Roy and Dick leaned over to read it, and Wally paused from where he was walking behind the couch to read it as well.

“Yes, please, everyone read my personal letters,” Jason growled.

“It’s not the end of the world, Jayce,” Dick said, leaning back into his seat. “It’s not like she’s actively mothering this kid, she gave it up for adoption.”

“Yeah, it’s not like she’s responsible for providing for it,” Wally added. “You’re not going to be a dad or anything.”

“But you guys read that,” Jason sighed. “How could anyone not love her just because she had a baby? How can I fix how she sees herself after all that?”

“Jason, Steph hasn’t dated anyone in two years,” Kon said, passing the letter back. “No one at school gave her a second look after this, and they said some really not nice things about her behind her back. Some even to her face. And it really hurt her because she was going through losing her boyfriend, losing her father, and most of her friends.”

“That’s a lot for anyone to handle, especially on top of pregnancy,” Roy said, and Jason game him a small smile.

“I know it is. It doesn’t really bother me that she had a baby, she did what she did to give it a better life, and I get it. I wouldn’t want to raise my own kid with my shitty life. But I mean,” Jason picked up the letter to read from it. “’I’m not a sexy girl, I’ve given birth. That’s the least sexy thing I can think of, and I don’t blame people for not liking that about me.’ How can I even get her to stop thinking like that? Having a baby doesn’t define who she is, she defines who she is.”

“Then tell her that, Jason,” Kon said, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“And tell her it’s not a deal breaker for you,” Dick added, and Jason nodded.

“Maybe add in there that you applaud her for doing what she did. That’s a lot to go through,” Roy said. “I know, I’ve seen it.”

“And, maybe, tell her you still think she’s sexy, and having her body go through that only adds to it,” Wally said, and Jason nodded at all of them.

“We could write it for you, if you want,” Kon said with a small laugh, and Jason smiled.

“No, I’ll write to her,” Jason said. “Thanks guys.”

“Come on, I’ve got to check my email anyways,” Kon said, nodding towards the other common area with computers.

* * *

 

_Steph,_

_You have no idea how beautiful you are to me, baby or not. In fact, the fact that you put your body through that and came out the woman you are makes you more beautiful to me._

_I don’t care that you had a baby. I’m proud of you for doing it all by yourself and giving that baby up for a better life. Sometimes I wish my mom had done that for me so I could have gotten a better life but then I guess I would have been an ass-hole frat bro at some college instead of meeting you._

_Having a baby isn’t who you are. You define you, and you are an amazing person. I would never dream of not being with you just because you had a baby once._

_I’m also so sorry you had to go through all of that alone. That makes you a strong woman to endure that without a partner._

_I hope you never think that makes you not worthy, or not sexy. I hope you also don’t place all your self-worth on how sexy men think you are. You don’t need to, it doesn’t matter what they think if you’re happy with yourself._

Jason glanced over at Conner on the computer, tapping his pencil on the table.

“So what’s new and exciting on the home front?” He asked, needing a mental break.

“Nothing really,” Kon shrugged and Jason scowled. “You stuck?”

“No,” Jason sighed. “I just don’t know how I feel about it.”

“Want me to read it?” Kon asked, and Jason raised an eyebrow.

“If you laugh even once-“

“I’m not going to laugh,” Kon shook his head, but Jason still looked skeptical. “Look, if it makes you feel better, you can read my email.”

“Really?” Jason’s eyebrows shot up. Kon was very protective over his emails.

“As long as you don’t tell anyone,” Kon said, pointing a finger at him. Jason nodded, moving to switch seats with him.

_T,_

_Steph told Jason she was pregnant, and he’s totally cool with it. So at least that’ll make her happy._

_I wish you could come visit me too, babe. We’re going to be docking soon, but I know how important work is for you. Besides, it’ll just make saying goodbye hurt all over again._

_Mom is going to be calling you for Jon’s birthday. You don’t have to go if you’re busy, but I’m sure she would appreciate it. We skyped not that long ago and she was kind of blubbery about me being gone, and you know how much she loves you._

_I’m sending him a gift home from port. I wish I could visit but it’s too soon. And unless it’s a funeral or something, I don’t feel right going home._

_Besides, I’m having fun here. Not that I wouldn’t have fun with you, but it’s nice to not have to wait tables every day ;)_

_When we dock maybe I’ll be able to call you or video chat. Miss you too!_

_Love,_

_K_

“This is good,” Kon said, and Jason turned after reading over the email. “She’s going to be really happy.”

“Really?”

“Of course,” Kon nodded.

“You’re good at writing emails,” Jason said, motioning to the computer. “Whoever she is, she’s a lucky girl.”

“I’m the lucky one, really,” Kon shrugged.

* * *

 

_Love,_

_Jason_

He stared at it, blinking. Were they ready for that? He hoped so.

The photos he stuffed inside were simply of the group of friends on the couch, and one of the dolphins off the back deck of the ship in their wake. Hopefully it made her smile.

“Jayce, we’re coming into port soon,” Dick said, walking up to the table he was sitting at.

“Cool, I’ll drop this in a mail box,” Jason said with a nod, getting up to follow his friend.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took a bit, there's also a time skip, so enjoy

Three more months.

She had to wait three more months.

Stephanie was writing her latest letter as she glanced over the calendar.

Jason really was sweet, and now that they were stopping at ports more often, he was sending gifts with her letters. Even now, she was wearing the silver locket he sent her. She tore off his signature from one of his letters and stuck it inside.

She was also wearing her newest gift, a beautiful, antique hair comb, full of beautiful gems.

“That’s sparkly,” Tim said as he danced by, light on his feet.

“Jason sent it to me from Italy,” she said, offering a small smile.

“Conner sent me something from Italy too,” Tim nodded, holding his hand out and showing her the leather bracelet with three little diamonds settled on top of his wrist. “He also sent me something I won’t show you because it’s not work appropriate.”

“You two are terrible,” Stephanie scoffed, tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Oh like you two aren’t just as bad,” Tim teased quietly, setting his tray down.

“We aren’t, Jason and I didn’t want to see things for the first time in pictures,” she said, giving him a smug smile.

“What’d he send you this time?” Tim asked, leaning over the bar. The photos were spread out, showing Conner and Jason in Italy, drinking margaritas on a beach. Then one of Jason smiling as Dick chatted up a redhead in the background. Even one with Wally and Roy, playing beach volleyball.

“They look like they’re having a good time,” Tim said, reaching down to touch the picture with Conner in it. “What do you say we close up shop for a week and meet them at their next port?”

“That sounds amazing,” She said, rolling her eyes. “But you’ve got tables.”

“Right,” Tim nodded, spinning away towards the restaurant to seat the couple that had walked in.

* * *

 

_Jaybird,_

_You’re really spoiling me with all these gifts, I really don’t have anything exciting here to send you back._

_Unless you want one of those ugly seashell necklaces that tourists seem to find everywhere here._

_I hope you know that I can’t be bought._

_That’s a lie, I totally can. But you don’t need to buy me, I like you anyways._

Stephanie put the letter into her bag and started to pull off her shirt. She was making it a point to enjoy the water more, since she always had when she was younger.

And in a weird way, it made her feel closer to Jason, just being near the ocean.

She still had an hour before she had to open the bar.

“Go, I’ll watch your stuff,” Tim said. He had decided to join her that morning, saying he was probably the only one who really got how she felt about being near the water.

She nodded at him before she stripped off her long skirt, letting it fall to the hot sand. She started running towards the dock, which wasn’t that high, but she’d rather dive in than walk in.

The water hit her like a cool burst of air. Her mother always told her that she was a fish, and Steph and her father would go to the beach together since her mother didn’t swim.

When she rose, she was facing away from the beach. The water was coming at her in gentle waves, and she could see boats out in the distance. Most of them were sail boats, some motorized boats, but none were grand ships.

She wanted to own a boat one day. One of her father’s associates had one when she was a little girl, and it was still something she treasured, diving off the side into the water, the wind, and the gentle feeling of being out at sea. She just wanted to leave the land behind.

“Steph, come on!”

She turned back and saw Tim waving at her from the shore.

“You’ve gotta be semi dry before we go to work!”

“Coming!” she called back, starting her swim towards the shore.

* * *

 

When Stephanie pulled her letter back out during one of their slow times, she saw that Tim had taken a few pictures of her.

They were actually really nice, except for the one of her taking her skirt off. That one she could see the stretch marks on her sides.

_Tim and I went for a swim this morning, and it was amazing. I miss being in the water all the time. When you come back, let’s get a boat._

_Well, if you’re not totally sick of being on a boat that is._

_It’s starting to pick back up again now that it’s getting cold. All the northerners are flying down for the winter, so at least it’s not a bunch of college kids. Though, old ladies in string bikinis aren’t much better._

_You said you like to cook, right? Maybe when you come back, you can help Bart out in the kitchen. Sometimes we’re so busy and everyone here is really great, but I feel bad I can’t give them a break or vacation._

She slipped her letter back into her bag as someone approached the bar, toying with the idea of looking for more employees in her head. None of them were in college, and who was she to take that away from her friends.

* * *

 

The line at the post office was long when she stopped in. She was sending her letter in a padded envelope because she also wanted to send a roll of film, Jason had said he ran out.

“I’m sorry, son, you don’t have enough,” The man behind the counter was saying. Stephanie looked down the line of people and saw a young boy recounting a pile of quarters, next to a handful of crumpled bills.

“But I have to send this today,” he said, and Stephanie recognized that voice. She surpassed the line, ignoring the dirty looks from the other patrons. “My brother has to get it because soon I won’t be able to send him emails anymore.”

She paused as she got to the front, setting her envelope down on the counter.

“How much more does he owe?” She asked, pulling out her wallet. The man scowled at her, probably fed up with the kid paying with quarters.

“$5.85,” he said, crossing his arms. Stephanie dug a ten dollar bill out of her wallet and handed it to the man.

“Stephanie!” Jon shouted, wrapping his arms around her middle.

“Would you like to mail yours too, since you’re here and paying anyways?” The man asked, raising a bored eyebrow.

“That would be great, thanks,” She nodded, ruffling Jon’s hair. “Why won’t you be able to send Conner emails soon?”

“He told me that they’re going to be going somewhere that they won’t have internet,” Jon shrugged. “And he can’t send mail from there either.”

Stephanie’s heart sank. She knew what that meant, they were going radio silence, possibly into dangerous territory. Conner wouldn’t have told Jon that though, wouldn’t have wanted to upset him.

“Miss?” The man behind the counter asked, holding out some cash. “Your change?”

“Right,” She said, taking the few bills and her receipt. “Want to come get some lunch at the restaurant, Jon?”

“Okay,” The boy nodded, following her out of the post office.

* * *

 

Tim was sitting at the bar when the two got to the restaurant, fake-lighting up when he saw Jon.

“Hey, Bud,” He said, getting up to hug the boy. “What are you doing here?”

“I ran into him at the post office this morning,” Stephanie explained. “I figured he could hang out here for lunch.”

“Sure, I’ll let Lois know,” Tim nodded, reaching for his phone to text the woman. “Why don’t you go sit down at an empty table and I’ll have Bart make you a grilled cheese.”

“Okay!” Jon said, running for one of the tables. It was frequent for him to visit when Conner was working, taking up a table to do homework or have a meal. It was less frequent now that Conner wasn’t there to keep an eye on him.

“Did he tell you?” Tim asked once he was out of earshot.

“They’re going radio silence?” She asked, flopping onto one of the bar stools.

“He couldn’t tell me where they were going, but that he wouldn’t be able to contact me for a few weeks,” Tim shook his head. “I think they’re close to enemy waters.”

“Oh god,” Steph groaned, putting her head down on the bar. “I told you this was going to happen, and you guys said that it wouldn’t-“

“Steph,” Tim hissed, looking over his shoulder. “I will be sad with you as long as you want, but please look happy for Jon. Please. Lois doesn’t want him to know.”

“Right,” Steph nodded. “I’ll go ask Bart to make him some food.”

“Thanks,” Tim said, squeezing her hand before going to check on Jon.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this has taken so long. I lost my steam.

_Jaybird,_

_You’re really spoiling me with all these gifts, I really don’t have anything exciting here to send you back._

_Unless you want one of those ugly seashell necklaces that tourists seem to find everywhere here._

_I hope you know that I can’t be bought._

_That’s a lie, I totally can. But you don’t need to buy me, I like you anyway._

Jason chuckled, trying to keep his voice down since he was supposed to be asleep. He’d have to get his letter out first thing in the morning since he wouldn’t be able to write or get letters for a little while. He hoped it didn’t scare her too much.

Obviously he couldn’t say where they were going, but being so close to the enemy waters was unsettling. They were planning on providing some help to the neighboring countries, but it was still close proximity. He’d pick up something for her in port to send out once he could.

Their tour would be coming to a close soon, and then they’d all get to go home. Or at least everyone else would, he’d find himself a new home in Florida. Which sucked because he hated Florida but he loved Steph.

Conner would probably go back to his family, so at least he’d be close by, but Dick would have to go back to Gotham, and Wally to Central City, and Roy to Star City. They’d be pretty scattered across the country. He hoped they could all stay in touch as friends.

He didn’t know if he was going to up himself for another tour, though. He’d have to see what he would do on land. He knew Dick wanted to be a police officer and go through the training when he got home, and Wally had a science brain. He had only enlisted to try and pay his way through school. Roy was probably going to go home to his daughter, whom he talked about frequently.

He could hear Dick snoring below him, and Conner even further below. He took out a piece of paper and started writing, despising how it looked since his knee wasn’t a good hard surface to write on.

_Stephie,_

_Who else am I going to spoil? You’re the only girl in my life._

_I hate to write this, but I’m not going to be able to talk for a while. I can’t say why, but I’ll write you when I can. I’m not going to be able to get letters either, so if I don’t hear back, that’s okay._

_We’ll be fine, promise._

_You don’t have to send me anything, Babe. Those photos of your pretty face are more than enough to get me through. I’d love to spend more time in the water with you, too._

_We can get a boat. You just gotta give me like a year to get used to being on land again. I’d sail the world with you if it’d make you happy, Princess._

_And I’d love to help out with the bar. I do cook, and I’m sure the others would like a break._

* * *

 

Jason and Kon were out on the deck when it happened.

A plane flew overhead, and while Kon didn’t seem to notice it much, too absorbed in what he was doing with one of the spinning satellite things, Jason saw right away that it wasn’t a friendly plane.

It started shooting, and Jason ran.

He grabbed Kon, knocking him to the ground where the spinny thing kept them from view. He could hear others on the ship shouting things, and could hear Kon cry out in pain.

“What, what is it?” Jason asked, but then he saw where Kon’s calf was bleeding. He quickly reached into his uniform for the gauze he always kept on his person just in case, pushing it to his leg. “Think you can walk?”

“I don’t know,” Kon shook his head, and they both looked up when the sound of boots thundering on the deck got closer to them.

Dick and Wally were helping Kon to his feet, and while he could walk, it wasn’t well. The two men carried him mostly while Roy pulled Jason to his feet and the two followed quickly, getting to their emergency stations.

“You good?” Roy asked as they ran.

“Fuckin fantastic,” Jason panted as they turned a corner.

* * *

 

After the plane was gone and they were out of danger for the time being, the group went down to the infirmary to check on Conner. He wasn’t the only one hurt, a few others had been shot a bit more severely, and one of the other men slipped on the wet deck and twisted an ankle.

But everyone was alive.

“They said it’s just a muscle tear, but I’m going to need a crutch while it heals. Said I should be back to new by the time we’re home,” Kon explained, and Jason breathed a sigh of relief. “But they’re not going to send me home early since the tour is almost up. Said I can do some desk work on the ship while I rest.”

“Glad you’re okay,” Dick said, squeezing his shoulder. “You guys coming up to eat?”

“I’m starved,” Wally nodded, and the two headed towards the door to the room.

“I could eat,” Roy began to follow them, but paused when Jason didn’t follow. “You comin’, Jaybird?”

“Nah, I’m going to hang here for a while,” Jason shrugged.

“I’ll bring you some food,” Roy nodded, giving them a wave as he left.

“You can go eat with them,” Kon said, watching Jason sit at the foot of his bed. “I mean, I’m fine here.”

“No, man, I want to stay here,” Jason said, giving him a smile. “Just glad it’s not serious.”

“Thanks for grabbing me, Jason,” Kon said, reaching out to pat Jason’s shoulder. “You’re probably my best friend on the ship.”

“Don’t get all mushy and shit,” Jason said, rolling his eyes. Let’s just get home in one piece, kay?”

“Sounds good.”

* * *

 

Tim was bouncing in place and it was pissing Stephanie off.

“Would you stand still?” She asked, crossing her arms. Their ship was just pulling into port, wasn’t unloading yet.

“He’s excited,” Lois said, putting an arm around Tim’s shoulder. Stephanie couldn’t blame him, she was excited too.

“Mommy, when is Conner getting off of the boat?” Jon asked, and Lois carded a hand through his hair.

“Soon, baby,” she said, and Clark scooped the boy up, put him on his shoulders.

“You see better up there?”

“Yeah,” Jon said, shielding his eyes from the sun.

“Here they come,” Steph said, seeing some of the men start to descend onto the dock. There were so many, and it wasn’t until near the end that she saw two redheads laughing as they started down the stairs, a man with raven hair behind them, and Jason carrying two bags and helping Kon on a crutch down the stairs.

“There they are!” Jon shouted, pointing.

Tim took off running.

Jason and Kon were at the bottom of the stairs when someone called for Kon. He turned, shoved his crutch towards Jason and started running through the throngs of people.

“Conner!” Jason shouted, hoisting the bags up to get a better grip as he followed.

Tim leapt into Kon’s arms when they met, his calves resting on his hips to stable himself as they kissed.

“I missed you so much,” Tim mumbled against his lips. “Don’t leave me again.”

“Missed you too, babe,” Kon moaned, leaning up for another kiss.

“Conner, you’re supposed you stay on your crutch,” Jason said, finally catching up. “And I don’t think lifting a whole other person is how you fix your leg.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kon laughed. “I feel great.” He tossed Tim over his shoulder, and the shorter man squealed.

“So this is the one you’ve been emailing all this time,” Jason said, listening to Tim laugh.

“Just said I didn’t have a girlfriend,” Kon shrugged. “Speaking of which,” Kon pointed, and Jason turned to see Stephanie making her way over, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and a hand full of letters in her other hand.

“Steph,” Jason said, dropping their bags to the sand and taking a few steps forward until he could put his hands on her hips.

“You came home,” She said, running her hands over his chest.

“I promised you I would,” He said with a small shrug. They glanced over, saw that Tim was now standing on the sand, smiling big as Kon knelt down to hug a young boy.

“Hey, so, where were we?” She asked, and Jason moved his hands up, cupping her face and leaning down for a kiss. It was the most amazing feeling he’d ever felt.

“Ooooo,” He heard, and he pulled back just enough to see Dick, Wally, and Roy cheering him on.

“If you think they’re idiots now, just imagine spending nine months on a boat with them,” Jason said, and Stephanie laughed, leaning into his hand.

“Well, invite them to the bar,” She said. “We’re having a bit of a coming home party.”

“Sounds like a blast,” Jason said, kissing her once more.


End file.
